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George Maponga in Masvingo

First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa has been praised for being a champion of women empowerment in Zimbabwe through her AGRIC4SHE initiative that has catapulted many women countrywide into the economic mainstream through agriculture.

Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira showered praise on the First Lady at the weekend saying she had revolutionarised women participation in agriculture, a move that dovetailed with the Second Republic’s Vision 2030 and President Mnangagwa’s philosophy of ‘’leaving no one and no place behind’’.

Speaking at an AGRIC4SHE field day held at Mrs Patricia Chudu-Siziba’s homestead in Triangle, Chiredzi over the weekend, Minister Chadzamira thanked the First Lady for her transformative relationship with women around Zimbabwe which has extricated most previously disadvantage females from poverty. Women were now key players in agriculture thanks to the First Lady’s assistance.

‘’We are grateful as a province for the work that is being done by our First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa that has seen many women excelling in agriculture thanks to the AGRIC4SHE programme, which is her brainchild.

The First Lady deserves to be applauded for allowing women the space and chance to enter fields like agriculture that were previously preserves of men only’’ said Minister Chadzamira.

“We are happy today that around Zimbabwe we now have many women who have been economically empowered through assistance to work on the land thanks to the First Lady,’’ said Minister Chadzamira.

‘’Our First Lady recognises the importance of empowering women as the custodians of families and she has covered a lot of ground in the drive to empower women through agriculture which is firmly in line with the Second Republic’s Vision 2030.

“Today we are proud and happy that we now have women farmers, who are beneficiaries of the AGRIC4SHE programme who are pacesetters in fields like sugar cane production, traditional grains growing, and this is surely in line with President Mnangagwa’s philosophy of ‘’leaving no one and no place behind.’’

The Masvingo Provincial Affairs Minister said Amai Mnangagwa was a visionary after deciding to empower women in agriculture because of the realisation that countrywide, about half the women were involved in farming.

With most women being involved in farming but lacking capacity, it was a masterstroke move by the First Lady to come up with the AGRIC4SHE initiative that opened avenues for women to participate in previously ale-dominated sectors such as livestock production and fisheries.

Minister Chadzamira said besides empowering women in agriculture, the First Lady also deserved praise for equipping women with life changing practical skills like soap and detergent making and sewing that boosted disposable incomes for women.

‘’Some of our women have also had the opportunity to acquire life-changing skills through partnerships with the Zimbabwe Open University and the First Lady should be commended for her vision and unflinching desire to change the lives of women.’’

The Minister said programmes like the cookout competition that was cascaded to provinces and even grew into a SADC regional competition hosted by Masvingo Province last month, were game changers that positioned women at the centre of the national development matrix.

The cookout competition has raised prospects for culinary tourism and cast the spotlight on the need for Zimbabweans to eat healthy foods with most of them being traditional foods.

‘’The First Lady is a true champion of women empowerment and is showing and leading the way to prove that today’s women can also be a master farmer involved in livestock production, fisheries and sugar cane farming among other farming activities.’’

The Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution minister said the First Lady had been prominence on the national cultural and economic landscape taking the initiative to inculcate good cultural and traditional practices particularly amongst the youths via initiatives like Nhanga that has been spread to all parts of the country.

Some of the traditional grains that were haversted from AGRIC4SHE beneficiary Ms Patricia Chudu Siziba’s field during a field day in Triangle over the weekend

She also paid tribute to Amai Mnangagwa for taking the lead in rehabilitating street children and giving them a fresh start in life as evidenced by the sterling work she was undertaking at the Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa Children’s Home in Chikombedzi which was previously known as Chambuta Children’s Home.

He also urged Zimbabweans to optimally use their land saying land was part of the country’s heritage left behind by the country’s forefathers and was now able to be used as a result of a protracted war of liberation where icons like President Mnangagwa were some of the pioneers in the fight for black majority rule.

In an interview, Mrs Chudu-Siziba paid homage to the First Lady for empowering many women through the AGRIC4SHE initiative.

She said the starter packs she and other women received from the First Lady had helped them to venture into commercial chicken rearing, fisheries and cattle fattening which had greatly boosted her income.

‘’I am very grateful for what Amai Mnangagwa has done for me and other women because she assisted us to venture into projects like chicken rearing, cattle fattening and fisheries such that even during the off season when the cane harvesting season is over I can still raise enough money to pay workers at my farm because I will be having an alternative source of revenue,’’said Mrs Chudu-Siziba.

She had been empowered by the First Lady, and was now empowering other women to venture into businesses like chicken rearing and fisheries.

At her farm in Triangle, Mrs Chudu-Siziba successfully grows sugar cane and is also into chicken rearing, fisheries and livestock thanks to help from the First Lady under the AGRIC4SHE initiative.